He clearly needs to do something different. I'm not a Hall-boy but I do think he has tremendous potential (still). I'm really curious if he'll be able to handle it; possibly getting his butt kicked by 18 year olds, and getting seriously worked day in and day out. I think if he can endure it and learn from it, he might come out like a freakin' lion. I give him credit for going for it. If you want to race with the best, train with the best.
runnerdave wrote:
He clearly needs to do something different. I'm not a Hall-boy but I do think he has tremendous potential (still). I'm really curious if he'll be able to handle it; possibly getting his butt kicked by 18 year olds, and getting seriously worked day in and day out. I think if he can endure it and learn from it, he might come out like a freakin' lion. I give him credit for going for it. If you want to race with the best, train with the best.
^^^^this
wayfool wrote:
he certainly doesn't look like he's racing in this photo:
http://www.tri247.com/article_1512.html
There is also no way to know whether he is heel striking or forefoot striking from those photos. Nor is there a way to know what pace he is running at.
metoo wrote:
runnerdave wrote:He clearly needs to do something different. I'm not a Hall-boy but I do think he has tremendous potential (still). I'm really curious if he'll be able to handle it; possibly getting his butt kicked by 18 year olds, and getting seriously worked day in and day out. I think if he can endure it and learn from it, he might come out like a freakin' lion. I give him credit for going for it. If you want to race with the best, train with the best.
^^^^this
Agreed all around. Would be very cool if it works out well for Hall and he rediscovers his inner white Kenyan.
runnerdave wrote:
possibly getting his butt kicked by 18 year olds
Yeah right. The only 18 year olds in Kenya that can run 2:04 are really 25.
Halleluja wrote:
runnerdave wrote:possibly getting his butt kicked by 18 year olds
Yeah right. The only 18 year olds in Kenya that can run 2:04 are really 25.
Also, the only 41 year olds in Kenya who can run 2:06 are really 28.
I read that Hall was making a movie about himself, which was supposed to focus on his lead-up to the Olympics, followed by London itself, which I think was going to be the end of the film. At some point many months ago, I'm sure he envisioned a medal in London and a glorious ending to his documentary.
I believe after the Olympics he said that he would continue to shoot the movie.
The Kenya thing sounds like it's right off a script writer's keyboard: 40 days in the Kenyan wilderness searching for redemption, etc. etc.
Hall seems like a bit of an airhead, but I'm rooting for the guy. I'd like to see him get 100% out of his talent. I'd like to see the guy win a big city marathon. If he can get back to 2:06 shape and compete at Boston, it would be cool. And I must admit that I'd watch the movie.
i would bet heaps of money that not one of you has ever met, let alone spent any time with ryan. he's not an "airhead". he's not a "tool". he's not any of these ridiculous accusations made by slow, armchair quarterback, running geeks, that fill this thread. all you know is what you've read. all you know is what you've "heard". i know for fact that the "God is my coach" quote was completely taken out of context. how about this? how about instead of bashing a great american distance runner (59.4x, 2.06.17), you send some encouragement his way? would that really be too much to ask? do you not want to ultimately see him succeed, or am i wrong there? the guy is doing the best he can (and what he feels is in his best interest) to run faster and be more competitive on a world scene. this is his job. maybe you ought to get behind that?
How can you say the god as my coach thing was taken out of context? If it happened one time, there might be a possibility. However, when he said it over and over again, there is no doubt about it.
because i heard it directly from his camp. where did you hear it? all over the internet? exactly. now, let it go, dude. get behind him in support, or get the f%^k out of the way.
+10
GATA, RH!
"..slow, armchair quarterback, running geeks, that fill this thread.."
Classic!
Huh? I have heard him talk about god as a his coach in numerous interviews. He had plenty of opportunity to explain it was taken out of context but he never did. He knew exactly what he was saying and it was reported verbatim. I have heard it straight from the horses mouth.
The mob mentality here to tear down elite runners - especially for reasons like their faith - is interesting to observe.
Is it some petty jealousy or what? So the guy is a committed Christian and has the stones to make that known - even though he knows he'll catch hell from losers like you people for it. So?
DWIGHT SCHRUTE wrote:
The mob mentality here to tear down elite runners - especially for reasons like their faith - is interesting to observe.
Is it some petty jealousy or what? So the guy is a committed Christian and has the stones to make that known - even though he knows he'll catch hell from losers like you people for it. So?
Stone? Stones?
OK, let's chat just a bit about this shall we? Hall is a very public figure who talks not only about faith based training but faith healing. As a public figure he has some influence on others (the weak minded admittedly but unfortunately there are many weak minded). Every year we hear about many cases of parents denying their child the proper medical care because they are trusting God to cure their child. All of these children suffer needlessly. Some of them die needlessly.
This faith based nonsense is not just innocent stupidity. And Hall and others like him are playing a role in the tragic deaths of completely innocent children.
How big do those stones have to be to contribute to the tragic and completely senseless deaths of innocent children?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
oh, I get it. By believing in God - and (gasp!) actually making that known to people - RH is directly contributing to the deaths of innocent children?
But I bet abortion is "a woman's choice" and "a women's health issue", not the killing of an innocent child, right?
Thanks for clearing that up for us, bro'
So, if you take all of Ryan's marathon times and average them out, of course he has the best over all "average" of any US born runner ever! BUT......would that be true in relation to the world marathon record during these last 5 years?
For example -
Take all of Rodgers times, average them out then subtrack the difference from the world record each year of those years from (1975-1982) then average those differences out and see what you get. Is it greater or less than Halls?
Superswede: I'm the one who made the "airhead" remark.
To be clear, I think Hall is a great runner. I want him to succeed. I wanted him to medal in London and I would be thrilled to see him win a major, or come close, like Desi.
My "airhead" remark wasn't based on the religious stuff. Nor was it meant to be an attack on his character. He seems like a nice guy.
My remark was mostly based on interviews I've seen of him, in which his words indicate that he is intensely focused on the mental and spiritual side of running.
In interviews, he comes across as somebody who has started to spend so much time with his own thoughts that he's become somewhat ungrounded. Combined with the valley girl/surfer accent, he just seems like kind of an airhead to me. Maybe it's an unfair comment, but so be it.
As an example, I watched his pre-race interview at London. He was saying something about how he wasn't really worrying about his performance because somewhere within himself there was a perfect marathon that he hoped would come out.
I thought it was weird when I heard it, and I immediately felt pessimistic about his race. It sounded to me like the type of crunchy mumbo-jumbo you'd hear in a Berkeley candle shop. But, more fundamentally, it didn't sound like a guy who was really in the zone and ready to focus intensely for 126 minutes on executing every little thing correctly to actually perform a perfect marathon.
I wish Ryan would import a little bit of Yuki Kawauchi into his approach. Be humble. Don't assume that a perfect marathon is going to emerge from your being.
Intead, assume that you are worthless and will fail unless you impose 100% of your effort and strategic intelligence over every single step of the 26.2 mile course, even if it means frothing from the mouth and fainting at the finish.
I don't want my favorite runner to talk about finding his perfect race from within. Athletic contests are not about rebirth. They're about execution.
I think Ryan Hall is a unique and amazing US talent. I am rooting for him 100%. I hope that he fully recovers from his injury and gets back to fundamentals. I'd like to see him focused on executing a world-class training and racing plan devised by a world-class coach.
I'd also love to see him develope a bit of a chip on his shoulder. I don't think he needs to prove anything to the world, but I'd love to see him try.
Yeah superswede!!
Hall needs somebody in his camp to get pissed and take some names. Get over there to Kenya and do some frickin' running in groups with fast guys. Don't over think it.
MICHAEL SCOTT wrote:
oh, I get it. By believing in God - and (gasp!) actually making that known to people - RH is directly contributing to the deaths of innocent children?
But I bet abortion is "a woman's choice" and "a women's health issue", not the killing of an innocent child, right?
Thanks for clearing that up for us, bro'
The one thing that you have cleared up is that you have a deplorable deficiency in the IQ department.
Here is a hint for you - I said nothing about abortion. Here is another hint for you - Never assume anything about what another thinks about any issue that they have not expressed. To do otherwise is to expose yourself as a moron with a complete lack of integrity.
Happy to make things clear for you - assuming of course that you have sufficient intelligence to understand simple and obvious truths.
Now, regarding believing in God - again, not what I said. I'll let you get a little exercise (God knows you need it) by going back and re-reading what I actually did say. See if that little comprehension light bulb goes off for you, regardless of how dim it may be in your case.
Going to Kenya is a short term solution. He needs to figure out where he is going to live and train in addition to who is going to coach him for at least the next 4 years. I applaud him for trying to do something different but I think he is looking for a magical solution not a practical one. Chances are he doesn't last long in Kenya and comes home early unable to handle the daily ass whippings.